Tuesday, January 15, 2008

I've made this French Onion soup twice in the past month. It is delicious and easy. I made it with my friends Darcie and Colin as a part of a New Year's Eve food-stravaganza. Following this rousing success, I decided to make it again for Laura (in hopes that i could convert the soup-leary).

And I can say, Laura has been converted. She loves this soup!

The sweetness of the onions, creaminess of the cheese and the soft crispy firmness of the toasted crouton - this soup is more than the sum of its parts.

IngredientsButter (unsalted)Olive Oil5 medium onionsstock (chicken or beef or a vegetarian version of these)baguettecheese - gruyere or cheddar

Now for the soup creation:1.Over medium low heat, melt 2 tbsp of unsalted butter with 2 tbsp of olive oil 2. Add 5 thinly sliced medium onions (half moons are fine) and stir until coated3. Cook on medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, keep an eye on them so they don't burn)4. Turn down to medium low, continue to cook until the onions are a rich brown approx 40 minutes ( My onions never seem to achieve the mahogany brown but they taste delicious. I think the key is tasting the onions.)5.Add 3.5 cups of stock (i use chicken stock though the original calls for beef)6. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20min.7. Flavour with salt to tasteWhile the soup is simmering, create your croutons:1. Slice baguette into 1 inch slices, 2 pieces per bowl of soup.2. Brush both sides of slice and toast in oven until golden

Assembly:1. Fill a bowl with soup2. Place 2 croutons on top3. Sprinkle cheese on top of crouton and a little in the soup

(Traditionally, the whole assembly is put under the broiler to melt the cheese but I don't think it is necessary. )

Be careful, before you know it the pot of soup for 5 will be gone.Enjoy.

1 comment:

It's true, I am a convert! And with no reluctance - from the first bite (slurp?) this soup was absolutely delish. We had a memorable version in Paris (that's another post!) and I thought, 'how could it be the same?' - or as good? But it was amazing! We should figure out a firm rich goat/sheep's (maybe sheep's) cheese to go on top for a non-cow version.

I like your description of the soup as being more than the sum of its parts! Yum. Who would've thought I'd be singing the praises of a soup? Clearly only your soup could have done it, Michelle.

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It all started with friendly Friday potlucks as beleaguered design students in search of a home-cooked meal, and upon graduation evolved into Wednesday Dinners, a mid-week refuge from work. After a few months we realized we were improving and had begun to think of food in new ways. We wanted to document these successes (and sometimes, failures) – and thus was born WeDine.

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